Tencent Holdings is in talks to walk away from several of the minority stakes it holds in Japanese game studios, among them the Tokyo-listed developer Marvelous Inc., as the company reassesses a global games portfolio it spent years assembling.
The discussions, first reported by Bloomberg, would unwind part of a buying spree that ran through the early years of the decade.
In some cases the exits would be tidy enough. In others they would sting. Tencent is preparing to sell certain stakes back to the studios’ original management teams and is willing to do so at a loss where it judges that the cleanest way out.
That is an unusual posture for an investor better known for accumulating positions than surrendering them.
The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!The logic, as described to Bloomberg, is one of housekeeping. Tencent is scrutinising holdings where the strategic synergies it once anticipated may no longer exist, and steering money instead toward areas it expects to grow faster.
